Aaron Stevens is one of a new breed of architects, crafting elegant and clean designs that are appealing and sophisticated, yet also easy to construct. One of the occasional pitfalls that architects succumb to is creating designs that look fantastic but are devilishly difficult to assemble. Aaron Stevens has twenty years experience in the construction industry so is extremely aware of ensuring that what he designs can be built.

He's meticulous and thoughtful in his designs and believes in thorough research.

There is much dissection of what the current trends are for residential and commercial architecture. There are certain definitive movements that are likely to be lasting long term trends: a move toward natural light wherever possible; a trend back to the Modernist approach and industrial design seeping into both retail and residential. We’re also seeing long term trends where rooms flow into each other with fewer walls and where the space is more implied rather than literally defined. We’re also seeing larger windows to help a space seem larger and fill it with natural light and become a feature of the room itself.

All of these are underlying trends that have been well underway for the last few years and are certainly present in the current designs we’re seeing in investment homes.

However, one of the biggest trends may be how well educated the general public now are about design. This is something Aaron Stevens whole-heartedly agrees with: "Australian Architecture is being transformed by an educated market place. Clients are far more aware than in the past, aware of design and technology, aware of space, form and function. Architecture is becoming more about a partnership between a client and an Architect, designing together to achieve excellence."

While traditionally architects of yore would have recoiled from such a collaborative approach, believing that it’s an anathema to the professional process, Stevens embraces this method: "Clients want to be included in the process from conception to completion,” he says “we feel our Architecture is improved by this partnership."

Stevens adds, "Technology has played a large part in the success of the Architect client partnership, our firm for example works only in 3D, enabling us to offer clients 3D fly-though of their project at all stages of design. With tools such as this, all clients are enabled to play a significant part of any project."

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Asked to nominate which of the many designs that he's created over the years that he's the most proud of, Stevens says: "We are extremely proud of our range of CASA homes. In a market place where design is often sacrificed for profit, we have done the opposite. Each CASA home is the result of hundreds of hours of research and development. They have been refined and resolved to achieve the DPN required level of design excellence."

It's true that the CASA homes with their clean lines, focus on natural light and an efficient use of space, are strong examples of Aaron Steven's work.

Stevens sees them as a significant breakthrough in project homes as they bring: "…design excellence to the investment home marketplace. Design without compromise, offering design aware clients an alternative to the standard on offer, a home that in all areas exceeded expectations."

It’s also interesting that as Australia is rapidly becoming more heavily urbanised, the traditional life on the three quarter acre block is becoming a rarity. This has led to much closer living, whether in apartments or townhouses, or houses on subdivided land. There’s definitely a flow on from this, that people are now becoming more aware of their environment than in the past and looking to design and architecture to solve their smaller space issues and make it more liveable. It’s why greener designs, for instance, are more popular.

Ultimately, architecture seems to be more about a definite dialogue between the clients and the designers than ever before. This communion is important to the investor as it means that homes are being designed with the tenants in mind.

As Aaron Stevens puts it: “Architecture should be about people. About living and engaging in space. Architecture that can be both beautiful and practical is what we strive for.”

Aaron is the Director of Aaron Stevens Architects. Aaron is a registered Architect with two degrees in Architecture and over two decades experience in the construction industry. Aaron Stevens has a passion for simple, clean, elegant design while maintaining a strong focus on build-ability.